Strawberry Pumpkin Fields
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Ichigo's name doesn't mean 'strawberry', but 'one who protects'. Kyoraku and Ukitake taicho plan a Halloween party for the young Shinigami and Quincy to help smooth things over after the war. Toshiro is dragged into going to the party despite his issues and worries that occur when dealing with others his age. Ichigo finds himself asked with Rukia to help with the party, but...
1. Costume Scare

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach. This fanfic was written for Wattpad's FanFicFriday contest for Halloween. This story happened to also be selected as one of the winners as well. The challenge was to create a Halloween story ten-thousand words or shorter. They also gave some prompts the writers could choose to work with which caused this story to pop into my head._

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Costume Scare<em>**

"We don't celebrate Halloween in Japan." Ichigo looked down at Rukia as she held up a box containing hair dye in one hand and a box of colored contacts in the other. His stomach flipped as he looked at the hair dye and his Adam's apple bobbed down. "_I swore I would never change my appearance as I am happy with who I am. She should know this._" He swallowed again and reached up and scratched his head in frustration. "You want me to do what?"

Rukia pulled the boxes close to her eyes as they widened and her lip twisted up into a pout. "It's a costume Ichigo."

"Yes... but you want me to dye my hair. You of all people should know that I have issues with changing my appearance."

"It's just contacts." Rukia pointed to the dye with another finger while still holding the box of contacts. "I also picked out hair dye that washes out." The female Shinigami continued to pout at him. "Please? Please Ichigo?"

Ichigo sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "Fine. I give in. You won't let this go until I do agree."

He felt Rukia tug him into the kitchen area of the thirteenth division. He watched as she prepped the sink. She pulled over a chair and he relaxed with the hopes she really knew what she was doing. She ruffled his once orange hair dry and handed him the contacts. Ichigo carefully put them in. Rukia handed him a mirror. His brown eyes were now an aqua color. The teens mouth twisted up into a frown. "These eyes aren't normal."

"You need to remove the adornments on your uniform." Rukia piped up. Her voice twisted with excitement as she tugged her fukutaicho badge off. "You'll also need this."

The teen sighed as he removed the adornments that were attached to his Shinigami Uniform. "Exactly who am I supposed to be? I mean... this is supposed to be a Halloween costume... right?"

"That's a secret."

"What do you _mean_ secret?"

"It's..."

A crashing sound caused Ichigo to turn his head to the entrance of the kitchen. The third seat of the thirteenth division stood there having dropped the tray of dishes she was bringing back from the captain's room. Kiyone's face was pale and her eyes wide with fright. "Kaien-dono!"

The brown haired female tore away while Ichigo looked at the dark haired female who was blinking a couple of times. "Oi! Did you expect this to happen?"

Rukia turned to look at him, her eyes still blinking. "Yes. That went better then I thought it would."

Ichigo pointed at the door way. "Well? Kiyone-san acted like she saw a ghost. What am I supposed to be?"

"Actually... it's more like who." Rukia looked away as her voice got softer.

"Dear god! Kaien-dono's ghost does walk among us!" The second third seat stood in the doorway, his face also pale and his eyes also wide. Sentaro's finger pointed at Ichigo, the third seat's entire body trembling. "You're supposed to be dead."

Sentaro then spun on his heals and hurried off. Ichigo tilted his head to look at Rukia, his stomach ache coming back. "Rukia... this isn't funny. Exactly what is going on? Who is this dead guy you dressed me up as?"

"Well..."

"Oh my." Ukitake's voice drew Ichigo and Rukia's eyes to the doorway. The taicho of the thirteenth division's face was pale like the others. He at first didn't say anything. A hand went up to his lips as if he were in thoughts. "How did Rukia put you up to this Ichigo?"

"She said it was just a costume." Ichigo took a deep breath. His mouth snapped shut upon realizing something. "Wait... you didn't confuse me for this Kaien person."

"To be honest... I had to do a double take." Ukitake walked over. "You do look a lot like him." The man placed a hand on his chin. "I was going to ask you and Rukia to help with the party being held for the Quincy and Shinigami children."

Ichigo chocked. "Are you sure that is a good idea? The Quincy and Shinigami don't exactly get along."

"The children get along all right. With everything that has happened to them... being turned into zombies and brought back some of them... they need something to lighten the mood." Ukitake's eyes darted up and down. "About that costume..."

"I can change if it is a problem."

"No..." Ukitake placed a chin on his eye. "I wonder..."

"You wonder what?" Ichigo's hand reached up to nervously scratch the top of his head. He wasn't sure if he liked the way this was going.

"This would scare a few if the children." Ukitake had a distant look in his eyes.

"That's why I planned Ichigo's costume the way I did." A smile appeared on Rukia's face. Ukitake blinked at her while Ichigo let out a deep breath of frustration. Something told him the man wasn't any more excited about Ichigo's costume then he was.


	2. Spooks Scare

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Spooks Story<em>**

"I will not participate in something as childish as a costume party." Toshiro felt his cheek twitch as well as his eyebrow and jaw. The young taicho of the tenth division sat at his desk leaning on his arm. The palm of his left hand pressed against his cheek as he looked at Rangiku with a look of utter disgust on his face. The woman in question leaned over his desk with a smile on her face while she held the bag that held the costume she'd managed to finagle for him. "_Seriously... I have better things to worry about._"

"Come on taicho. Things have been tense around the division. You need to lighten up." The woman's mouth twisted into a rather annoying pout as she tried to guile him into doing what she wanted. "Ever since you were turned into a zombie and brought back to life..."

"Don't talk about that!" Toshiro's eyes widened as he stood up. The desk chair clattered to the ground. His throat tightened as he swallowed. His bright teal eyes darted down to see that his hands were clenched into two balled up fists that were so tight that his knuckles were turning white. He bit the inside of his mouth. "_I need to worry about what my division members think of me after failing to the point of dying, being manipulated by the enemy and being brought back to life. The last thing I need is to participate in some childish costume party._"

The white haired youth looked up to yell at Rangiku in order to emphasize the fact he wasn't going. His breath stopped short when he saw the red haired fukutaicho step through the doorway of the office. Renji raised a hand. "Happy Halloween Hitsugaya Taicho!"

"Abarai..." Toshiro's voice strained. "I'm not wanting to hear about Halloween."

"Oh come on! I've heard rumor that things have been tense around here and that you need some cheering up after what happened."

"Matsumoto!" The two bright teal eyes of the young taicho turned to look at the woman in question. The look on her face tried to present some kind of sheepish innocence. The boy turned his head back to the red haired Shinigami. "Look. I don't need cheering up with childish nonsense."

"I came to tell you a spooky story since it's Halloween. Spooky stories are far from childish."

"As if you could scare me."

Renji smiled at the challenge the young taicho put forth. "All right. There is this story that goes like this. A friend of a friend of a relative..."

"You don't have a relative." Toshiro glared at the man.

"Taicho... just let him tell the story."

Toshiro sighed and waved his hand for Renji to continue.

"As I was saying... a friend of a friend of a relative of a teacher told me this story." Renji watched the small taicho's face twitch from annoyance. "That's how your supposed to start a spooky story."

"Get on with it." The young taicho looked at the evening sky with a look of boredom..

"This person happened to have a really close relative or friend that they looked up to. One day this person they looked up to died a very tragic death. The person this story is about found themselves very, very sad at this persons death. They wished that this person would come back to see them. Then one day they looked out the window and..." Renji leaned forward to emphasize the next part. "...there was the dead person looking back at him with black eyes!"

"That isn't scary." Toshiro glowered at the red haired Shinigami. "People in Soul Society are already dead. Since we're already ghosts we can't come back as ghosts. We can only come back as..." The young taicho's mind drifted to an answer. "... hey!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean..." Renji raised his hands up into the air. "It honestly was a ghost story... not a zombie story!"

"What ever." Toshiro looked back at the window. His eyes suddenly widened upon seeing something pass by the window. The young taicho thought he saw a familiar face with dark hair. The youth shook his head and swallowed. "_There is no way it could be that person. I'm seeing things._"

"Looks like I managed to scare you!"

"You did not!" Toshiro snapped as his foot tapped the floor from annoyance and his arms crossed his chest.

"Taicho..." Rangiku's voice suddenly sounded timid.

"Matsumoto... please tell me that story didn't scare you."

"No... I forgot to mention something."

"And what would that happen to be?"

"I forgot to mention the fact the costume party is mandatory."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "Say what?"

Renji looked at Rangiku. "What costume party? How come I haven't been invited?"

"The party is for the younger Shinigami and younger Quincy." Rangiku smiled at the other fukutaicho.

"I'm not a child." Toshiro's face twisted into a pout.

"As I told you. It's mandatory." The woman leaned forward over the young taicho's desk again.

"Why?"

"Because Ukitake and Kyoraku Taicho know that you won't participate unless you're made to participate." Rangiku shoved the costume into Toshiro's arms. "Here... you don't have to change until later tonight."

A small boney hand reached out to pull the costume out of the bag. Toshiro grimaced at the furry costume. "What exactly is this?"

"A werewolf costume. I thought it was adorable."

Toshiro let out a deep breath. "_If she thinks it is adorable... then I'm in trouble. It's likely some__thing __horribly embarrassing._"


	3. Black Kitty

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Black Kitty<em>**

Ukitake's nervousness about Ichigo's _costume _made the teen even more nervous. He looked at the man hoping he would explain _who_ he was supposed be dressed at. Something in the man's eyes told Ichigo that Ukitake didn't know how to explain _who_ the teen was supposed to be. "Rukia..." Ichigo swallowed as he looked at the female Shinigami. "Exactly why do you think that me dressing up as a dead person is a good idea."

"Because it is Halloween."

"That..." Ichigo felt Rukia tug on his sleeve. Ukitake let out a sound and held up to protest. The small female moved too fast and managed to tug Ichigo out of the thirteenth division kitchens. "... honestly, having me dress up like a dead person..."

"... is the creepiest thing I can think of." Rukia continued to tug on Ichigo's sleeve.

"And that is a good thing?"

"The goal of Halloween is to scare people, is it not?"

"Yes. I mean no!" Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "I mean..."

"On top of this Kaien-dono was so cool!"

"And the point is?"

"Well... isn't the other point to dress up as something you admire if something that it isn't creepy? This does both, does it not?"

"Rukia... I don't even know who this guy happens to be. So I can't admire him. But I do find the fact _I _am dressed like him to be quite creepy. Who is he?"

The small female of course didn't answer. "I heard the party is being held at one of the larger building near the tenth division."

"Yes, but..."

A black cat started walking across their path causing Rukia to stop. Ichigo crashed into the small female and almost knocked her over. The black cat blinked at them a couple of times before sitting down. "Ichigo... what do you think you're doing?"

Ichigo blinked a couple of times. "Lady Yourichi..."

"Sometimes I wonder how males can be so stupid." The black cat reached up one back leg to scratch at her ear.

"Me? Stupid?" The teen pointed first at the black cat. A chocking sound came out of his throat. He then pointed at Rukia. "It was her idea!"

"And you're the one who went along with it. That makes you a moron." The black cat narrowed two yellow cat eyes at Ichigo.

"I didn't realize that she wanted me to dress up like a dead person when I agreed!" Ichigo's voice strained even more. His jaw hung open for a few minutes while he continued to point. "Wait.. don't tell me. You know who I'm supposed to be!"

"I do." Yourichi blinked at the two. "Rukia... what made you think this is a good idea?"

"I read about it in a book."

"This wouldn't happen to be one of those Gothic novels you read?" Ichigo swallowed.

"Yes. This is quite normal."

"Excuse me while I go have a word with someone." The black cat stood up. "You are going to have bad luck tonight Ichigo."

"Bad luck? You mean because a black cat crossed his path."

"No. Because you are a moron to go along with this." Yourichi's tale twitched as she walked off.

Ichigo felt Rukia tug on his sleeve and the substitute let out a groan. His eyes rolled back as he wished he had never agreed to the costume he was wearing. They past by the tenth division and towards the building. Ichigo pulled her to the side to speak to her about the costume choice.


	4. Twisted Pumpkin

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Twisted Pumpkin<em>**

Toshiro held the bag with his costume to his chest as his lips twisted up. He stepped into the room and stopped short. His bright teal eyes widened at seeing the other children, his throat swallowing only to stick from the nervousness felling in the pit of his stomach. Nobody notice the fact he entered the room and instead remained focused on what ever task they were preoccupied with.

Yachiru and another girl were sorting through the bowls of candy and discussing their favorite candies. Hanataro worked on decorating the room with Rin while Rin kept staring at the piles of candy the girls were sorting out. Ryunosuke sat at a table with pumpkins sitting on top. His chin rested on the edge of the table while he watched Shino carve a pumpkin. Rikichi sat leaning back on two chair legs with his arms crossed behind his head. Three other girls sat next to the window chatting with each other.

The girl with magenta colored hair blinked a couple of times as her hands crossed on her lap. She wore a dress in the ama-loli style with red trimmings. The front of the dress used a flat corset front in a cream color. She wore in her hair two pink bows with thin red ribbons attached. Her socks were white knee highs and she wore red ballet style shoes that tied around her ankle.

The girl with blonde hair wore a dress one would expect to see in the Victorian era with a sepia color scheme. The skirt cut off around the hip revealing brown pinstripe socks that went up to her thigh. She wore cowboy boots. Her sleeves puffed out and cut of short. The girl held in her hand two long sleeves that would add length to the costume. On her head was a brown har with a feather in it and her blond hair was carefully styled as if she had spent a good bit of time on her hair.

The purple haired girl wore a white sailor outfit with purple trimmings. Her boots went all the way up under her skirt and she wore a black head band. Toshiro felt as if he had met her before, only to flinch upon realizing that she was the one person to have noticed him when he had come into the room. His throat tightened nervously as he blinked a couple of times. A voice in the back of his head reminded him of something. "_She also was turned into a zombie._"

Letting out a sigh he looked at the pumpkin Shino was working on. The female Shinigami had removed the top, but hadn't bothered to remove the seeds from inside the pumpkin. She slowly carved out the first eye. The "guts" coming out of the pumpkin caused the boy to swallow. "_That looks nasty._"

The girl proceeded to cut out the other eye. Not only did more "guts" come out, but the second eye was much smaller. She continued to carve the pumpkin out, butchering the face as she went. When she finished everything she frowned. Toshiro jumped slightly as she stabbed the knife into the pumpkin in frustration. Ryunosuke let out a sigh. "You shouldn't do that Shino."

"How come I can't carve a cool pumpkin like you did!" The girl pointed over to the carved pumpkins over by a tub with water. Apples bobbed up and down in the water.

"I don't know."

The purple haired female crossed her arms. "When are you going to change into your costume Liltotto?"

"I don't want to." The blond haired girl continued to sort through the candy.

The girl with the magenta hair pouted. "Our costumes are supposed to match."

"Match... that's a laugh Mini." The girl glared at the two. "Your guys costumes match your hair colors. Mine doesn't."

"Hey! I'm stuck wearing something that doesn't breath!" The girl with blond hair rolled her eyes. "I think that is a worse complaint."

"So you admit you like wearing skimpy clothes Candy." Liltotto also rolled her eyes.

"Shut up."

Toshiro took a deep breath and headed over to another window and sat on the long bench. Nobody noticed him as he walked around the edge of the room. He set his bag down and pulled one knee up. He let out a sigh hoping nobody would notice him.


	5. Bobbing for Apples

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Bobbing Apples<em>**

The young taicho's stomach flipped as he continued to look at the other young Shinigami and the young Quincy in the room. His knee was pulled up to his chest as he sat on the bench. His jaw pressed against his knee. The other youth in the room continued about their business as if he wasn't there. One hand hung over his knee limply. "_I'm not sure if I like the fact I am being ignored. The reason I didn't want to come to this party..._"

"..._is because you worried that the others will either ignore you or __will treat you as if he doesn't belong._"

Toshiro brushed away the voice in the back of his head. His bright teal eyes looked down at the bag that contained his costume. He kept observing the other youths only to see that the Quincy girl that noticed him before looking at him again. The other girls kept chatting away. Eventually the blond female noticed the direction the girl was looking in. "One of the Shinigami taicho happens to be a kid?"

"_I'm not a kid._" Toshiro's stomach lurched again. He thought he saw someone pass by the window behind her with black hair that was familiar. The boy blinked his bright teal eyes a couple of times before shaking his head.

Hanataro overheard the girl speaking about the small taicho. "Ah! Hello Hitsugaya Taicho."

This brought the other youths attention towards the small taicho. He didn't say anything and remained still. Ryunosuke blinked a couple of times upon seeing the young taicho. "Hitsugaya Taicho came to the party too."

Shino frowned as she looked up from her butchered pumpkin. "Nah. Hitsugaya Taicho is too stuck up. He thinks he's better then us because he graduated from the academy as young as he did. He's only here because they made him come."

Toshiro found himself looking away as the feeling of rejection welled up. He remained silent despite the fact he didn't like the feeling. The purple haired girl spoke instead. "Really?"

A silence fell over the room. Shino looked at the girl as a frown spread across her face. For some reason the female Shinigami didn't say anything. Instead it was the blond haired Quincy girl. She stood up. "If you're here, you might as well participate."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes snapped over to look at the girl. "What do you mean by that?"

"We're being forced to participate as well." Liltotto didn't look him in the eye. "Of course... there is the fact we're being given candy. That helps placate myself."

One of Toshiro's eyebrows rose up at the girl's odd wording. He tried to look away from everyone. He swallowed as his nervousness grew. "_Exactly what am I supposed to say? If I say nothing, they'll take it the wrong way. If I say something they'll construe it a different way then I mean it._"

"_You don't want to be here though._"

Toshiro swallowed again. "_I don't want to be here because I knew this would happen. I also don't want to be here because I don't want to be seen as even more childish __then those my own age._"

"So..." The voice caused the young taicho to flinch. The blonde haired female leaned over to look him right in the face. "... do you really not want to participate?"

Toshiro's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "I..."

The girl titled her head towards the apples in the tub. "Why don't you try this?"

The blond female grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the tub of water with apples bobbing up and down. He felt his shoulders tense up at being grabbed by the girl. He looked at the waters and swallowed. "What..."

"This is a game. You dunk your head into the water and try to bite down on an apple." The girl pushed on his back slightly. "Come on. Play the game."

"Candace..." The girl with the purple hair spoke.

The girl with blond hair ignored her. "Come on..."

"He won't do it."

Toshiro looked up to see Shino folding her arms across her chest. He swallowed despite his trepidation. Looking at the water bothered him for some reason. "_I'll try. If I don't..._" He knelt down on one knee, only to stare at the water. A feeling of dread welled in his stomach. He couldn't place the fear that welled in the pit of his belly. Toshiro could see his reflection with his silvery white hair and his bright teal eyes. His mouth twisted up as the feeling of sinking and drowning came over him.

A hand pushed his head from behind and his head dipped under the water.


	6. Smashed Pumpkins

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Smashed Pumpkins<em>**

A memory flashed through Toshiro's mind. The sensation of falling washed over him. A cold sweat broke out on his skin as if he had hit the water. He felt himself being pulled under and everything freezing. The voices of the other people could be heard. The pressure at the back of his head that pushed him down suddenly left and a tug came at the back of his clothing. He gasped for breath and blinked a couple of times.

His teal eyes looked down at the tub and noticed the thin layer of ice now floating on the surface of the water. His arms hung at his sides and his fingers remained limp. _"What happened?"_

"_Don't you remember? You almost drowned as a child._"

Toshiro moved slightly to feel that someone still had him from behind. His lips tightened and he spun around as he stood up. This action caused the person holding onto the back of his uniform to let go. He found himself face to face with the violet haired girl. "You!"

"You think I was the one who pushed you in? That was Candace."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes stared at the girl as water dripped off locks of hair. He found himself swallowing as he took in the others in his view point. Shino was sitting at the table while Ryunosuke looked at him with a horrified look on his face. He felt a hand touch his shoulder cauasing him to swallow again. Hanataro's voice came from behind him, the tone quite worried. "Are you all right Hitsugaya Taicho?"

The young taicho swallowed again. "_All of this... this was a bad idea. This..._"

His nostrils flared and the voice in the back of his head spoke again. "_You know full well you want to participate. You just don't know how._"

"I told you he doesn't want to participate in the party and play games with us." Shino piped up. Ryunosuke opened his mouth to say something. The girl stood up and poked Toshiro in the chest causing him to take a step backwards. If you don't want to be here then why don't you leave."

Toshiro found himself taking another step backwards. As he stepped backwards he felt something crunch under his foot. His face twisted up into a grimace as he felt something wet and gooey slip under his sandal and into the sock of his uniform. He swallowed as he looked at the girl. Ryunosuke's head darted up. Something told Toshiro that the other boy was about to burst into tears. "_I just managed to step on his pumpkin, did I not?_"

He watched as the purple haired Quincy girl placed her hands on her hips, her mouth twisting up into a frown. The purple haired girl's mouth opened up. "Hey..."

"_She's mad at me as well..._"

Shino turned to look at the girl. The purple haired Quincy flicked her finger and an orb went flying at Shino's mutilated pumpkin. The pumpkin began to glow before suddenly exploding. Toshiro felt pumpkin 'guts' hit him in the face. He reached one hand to wipe the pumpkin guts onto the ground. A frown creased his facial features. He felt his chest tighten. "I can very well take care of myself!"

The next thing he knew he was flash-stepping out of the room.


	7. Graveyard Find

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields**

_**Graveyard**_

The night air was cold and crisp, which felt good to the young taicho. The time between when he fled the party and the time he arrived to where he was now was a blur. His awareness simply wasn't there due to how he was feeling. He found himself sitting on the ground behind a gravestone looking at another gravestone. His arms wrapped around his knees and he leaned up against the cold stone. "_Perhaps this is for the best._"

"_You know that you're going to get in trouble with Ukitake and Kyoraku, not to mention the fact Ran-chan will not like you not wearing the costume she prepared for you._"

"_If I had worn the costume then I would find myself even more embarrassed then I am now._"

"_You wanted to play with the other children, did you not?_"

Toshiro's chin hit his arms. "_You're not my zampaktuo spirit, are you?_"

The voice remained silent for a few minutes before speaking up again. There was laughter. "_Not your zampaktuo spirit. I guess not... or maybe I am._" The voice paused. "_Still... you wanted to play with the others. You wanted to make friends. You wanted to participate in these 'Halloween' activities._"

"_So? I can't be seen doing anything childish. I tried participating and I looked far more childish then anyone there._"

"_I wouldn't say that is true. You need to honestly think..._"

"_Shut up._"

"_You're shutting me up._"

"Yes! I said to shut up!"

"Toshiro?" The voice caused Toshiro to look behind him.


	8. Graveyard Seek

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields**

_**Graveyard Find**_

"I think this costume is stupid."

Rukia folded her arms across her chest. "Come on Ichigo. Your costume choice can't be that bad. I mean... Kaien-dono happens to be cool."

"You heard Ukitake. He thinks that this costume will in fact scare some of the young Shinigami. Who am I supposed to be Rukia?"

Rukia opened her mouth to answer, only to hear an explosion coming from the inside of the room where the party was going on. She and Ichigo peeked around the corner to see the young captain of the tenth division taking off. "What is going on?"

"I'll go after him."

"Wait... let me find out exactly what happened before you do that." Rukia stepped into the room and saw the young Shinigami and young Quincy glaring at each other. "What happened?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho stepped on Ryunosuke's pumpkin." Shino pointed her finger at the violet haired girl. "And she blew up my pumpkin!"

Rukia took a deep breath. "I'm sure he didn't mean to do that."

Shino folded her arms across her chest. "Of course he meant to do it. He doesn't want to have anything to do with us."

"I'm sure..." Rukia noticed a bag by a bench as Hanataro spoke up.

"He didn't mean to. Someone decided to dunk his head into the apple bobbing tub."

"Seriously..." The small female let out a sigh.

Candace pointed her finger at Shino. "That's not what caused him to step on your friends pumpkin. _You_ kept rattling him and made him step backwards."

"My fault? You're trying to shift blame!"

"Why don't you guys change into your costumes?" Rukia walked over to the small bag and picked it up. "Is this Hitsugaya Taicho's?"

"I think it is." Rin frowned at the girl. "He'll be back right? It won't be fun unless he comes."

"What do you mean? He..."

Rukia glared at Shino. "Couldn't you have tried making him feel welcome?"

"He doesn't like us."

"And how can you know whether he likes you or not." Rukia shook her head. "Please... why don't you guys go ahead and change into your costumes... those of you who haven't yet." She stepped out of the room and handed Ichigo the bag. "Find him."


	9. You're Back, I Think

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>You're Back, I Think<em>**

Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times at seeing the familiar face in front of him. The dark hair and aqua colored eyes caused the color to leave his face. The color came back to his face as quickly as it had left and a smile spread across his face. "Kaien-dono. Tou-chan?" Realization hit the young taicho and he felt his chest hurt and his throat burn. He swallowed. "Kurosaki..."

"Toshiro..."

The young taicho stood up and backed away from Ichigo. "How could you!"

"Toshiro..."

"How _dare_ you dress up like Kaien-dono! What kind of sick joke is this! This isn't at all funny! This..." Toshiro felt his breath become strained and could hear it strain as well. This meant Ichigo could hear it as well.

Ichigo scratched his now black head of hair. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry! Instead of being sorry you simply shouldn't have done it!" The temperature around the graveyard dropped.

"I didn't know."

"How could you have not known! You're the one who came up with the costume!"

"It was Rukia's idea." Ichigo held out the bag that held the costume Matsumoto had prepared for him.

"That doesn't change the fact..." Toshiro chocked as tears welled in his eyes.

"... this Kaien person is important to you." Ichigo's now aqua eyes looked at the small taicho with worry.

"He's not!"

"You called him tou-chan Toshiro."

"It's none of your..." The small taicho paused as his head turned away from Ichigo. His bright teal eyes looked up at the teen. His facial features twisted up in concentration. "Remove the contacts."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Ichigo sighed and removed the contacts carefully from his eyes. "Why?"

Toshiro stepped forward and pushed Ichigo's hair up with his small hands as his facial features continued to twist up in concentration. His eyes widened and a smile spread across his face again. "Taicho!"

Ichigo grabbed Toshiro's hands and pulled them away, frowning at the small taicho as he did so. "Toshiro..."

A frown spread over the boy's face. "You..."

"What relationship does this Kaien person have to your former taicho."

Toshiro swallowed. He looked away from the teen as his hands came down to his side. "Kaien-dono was my former taicho's twin brother."

Ichigo let out a sigh and crossed his arms chest. "Seriously... I'm going to have words with Rukia for having me dress up as a dead member of my family." He heard a chocking sound from the young taicho and turned his head back towards Toshiro. "What ever is the matter Toshiro? I thought you had figured out who my father is."

"Yes... but..." Toshiro looked away.

"What's you're relationship with this Kaien person."

"It's not..." The small boy took a deep breath. "Kaien-dono and his wife Miyako-dono were working on adopting me. It never went through though. They died first."

"I'm sorry for upsetting you."

"No... I..." Toshiro looked away.

"How about I wash this dye out of my hair while you change into your costume."

Toshiro looked warily at the bag. "I don't want to..."

"Your costume can't be worse then mine can it?"

"Matsumoto said it is a werewolf costume."

"Cool."

"She said it was cute..."

"Ah..." Ichigo scratched his head. "I still think it's better then dressing up as a dead relative."

Toshiro took a deep breath and let it out.


	10. Too Much Candy

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Too Much Candy<em>**

Rukia walked back into the room to find that the tensions between the Quincy and Shinigami youth were still running high. She folded her arms across her chest. "Should I cancel this party that Ukitake and Kyoraku Taicho worked so hard to plan for you guys?"

The blond haired girl in costume rolled her eyes. "As if I actually care."

"I like the candy, so I vote we stay." The smaller blond piped up.

"Really? It means that we have to get along with these Shinigami." The girl flopped back down next to the magenta haired female.

"You're the problem." Shino placed her hands on her hips.

"Really? Last time I checked it was you who were the problem. And come on? Why did we have to have _these _costumes? None of the Shinigami are dressed in there costumes, nor is Lil. Seriously."

The girl with the magenta colored hair pouted. "But I thought we all liked this show. That's why we picked this."

"No..." The blond dressed in costume pointed at the purple haired female. "... she's the main one who likes this show. We don't argue with her."

Rukia took a deep breath. "Come on. Go get your costumes on. I know which division each of you are in, so I will hunt you down if you are not back her in ten minutes."

"My stomach hurts." Ryunosuke groaned.

"Why?" Rukia crossed her arms at the small male from her division.

"I ate too much candy."

"How much did you have?" Shino glared at the boy.

"I had the entire package Ukitake Taicho gave me today."

"All right. Everyone else go and change into your costumes if you haven't all ready." Rukia watched as they left and glared at her. "Don't worry. I'll go and change into mine as well."

She watched as the Quincy girls grabbed Liltotto and dragged her out of the room to put on her costume.


	11. Costume Play

**Costume Play**

Toshiro and Ichigo arrived in one of the men's restrooms to find the fukutaicho of the seventh division scrubbing away at a giant pumpkin. Ichigo blinked a couple of times. "What happened in here Iba-san?"

"One of the young Quincy went..." The fukutaicho looked up, only to flinch upon seeing Ichigo. "Shiba Taicho!"

"Great..." Ichigo folded his arms and took a deep breath.

Toshiro looked at the man while he held onto his costume. "What did the young Quincy do Tetsuzaemon?"

"She created a bunch of murals with jack-o-lanturns on them around Soul Society. I know it is her, but the taicho have no actual proof. That little brat." The man stopped for a few minutes. "Speaking of which... you aren't going to participate in the party Ukitake and Kyoraku taicho planned for the younger ones?"

Toshiro held up the bag by the handles grimacing. "Matsumoto prepared a costume for me."

"Oh..." The man paused what he was doing.

"It's a werewolf costume." Ichigo piped up.

"Yes... and it's also prepared by Matsumoto Fukutaicho whose able to make anything cute." The man looked at Ichigo. "Why the hell are you dressed like a dead taicho?"

"My dad actually isn't dead."

"Of course... wait. You're saying you're Shiba Isshin's kid?" Iba whistled.

Toshiro glared at Ichigo. "Do I really have to dress up in this costume?"

Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "Yeah. You do. Come on. It will be fun. It can't be as bad as Rukia dressing me as my dead uncle as I've already said."

Toshiro sighed and slipped into one of the bathroom stalls. Ichigo went to work trying to wash the dye out of his hair, only to stand up with a soaking wet head of black hair. He frowned at the mirror when Toshiro came out. "Something that matter Kurosaki?"

"Yeah... Rukia told me the dye will wash out." Ichigo turned his head to look at Toshiro. "Hey... that werewolf costume is actually pretty cool."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." The boy's bright teal eyes narrowed from annoyance.

"No... that is a pretty cool costume young Hitsugaya." Iba gave a thumbs up to the young taicho who simply scowled as he clipped the ears into his hair before brushing some of his hair over his ears.

"I look ridiculous." Toshiro turned to look at Ichigo. "Do you still have the contacts since you can't get rid of the dye job any time soon?"

"Yeah... why?"

"I prefer seeing Kaien-dono to taicho. You're more like him anyways."


	12. Jack-o-Lanturn

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Jack-o-Lanturn<em>**

Ichigo and Toshiro arrived at the room to find only a few lights on. The teen flipped on the switch while Toshiro stepped into the room. Ryunosuke was the only occupant of the room and his chin was still on the table. The young taicho turned his head to the teen with the dye job. "What's the point?"

"Ryunosuke's still here."

"Yes. But..."

"Come on Toshiro. So everyone bagged out. You need to learn to have some fun." Ichigo's mouth twisted up. "Or you end up in a situation like I did where _if_ I had picked my _own_ I wouldn't be in the mess I am now."

"Fine." The small taicho walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. His eyes drifted over to the pumpkins that others had carved. Ryunosuke's smashed pumpkin was still there. "I'm sorry about your pumpkin."

"It's all right. It wasn't your fault Hitsugaya Taicho."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes drifted over to the pumpkin and the carving instruments and he began to worry his lip. One of Ichigo's very orange eyebrows went up. "Do you want to try Toshiro?"

"It's not as if..." Toshiro stopped himself from saying, "..._I want to try something so childish._" He took a deep breath. "Does it have to be a face?"

Ryunosuke sat up while letting out a groan. "No. Carving pumpkins aren't easy though."

"I saw your friend butcher hers." Toshiro looked over to the pumpkin again.

Ichigo walked over and picked up a pumpkin and placed it in front of the boy. "You've got to cut off the top first and then clean out the inside completely."

The young taicho removed the glove part of his costume and handed it to Ichigo. The boy brought over the carving tools and the bucket for the pumpkin 'guts'. Cutting off the top was the easy part. Reaching in to remove the slimy substance caused a shiver to run down his spine. "This is enjoyable?"

"It's fun." Ryunosuke piped up. Despite being a bit tipsy the boy stood up and began to help Toshiro remove the pumpkin 'guts'.

"You don't have to."

"Shino says you don't like other Shinigami your age, but that doesn't seem to be the case. You're actually quite nice."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times and went back to digging out the guts. When they finished they wiped their hands on paper towels. He took the pencil and drew the design he wanted onto the pumpkin. Ichigo leaned over from the chair. "That's complex."

Ryunosuke blinked a couple of times. "Are you going to be able to carve that?"

The young taicho didn't answer the question and instead went to work carving the detailed dragon out from the pumpkin. Ichigo let out a whistle as he watched Toshiro work. "You're quite good at this."

"Yeah..."

"Not really. Hinamori's the one whose good at this kind of thing."

"I don't really like her."

"Why not?" Toshiro looked at Ryunosuke as his eyes widened.

"I don't know. She's friendly enough and gets along with Shino... but... she really just doesn't... she's kind of scary. It feels kind of too good to be true."

"She..." Before the young taicho could say that Hinamori Momo drove him nuts a sound came from the door way.

"Puppy doggie!"


	13. Puppy Doggie

**Strawberry Halloween  
><em>Puppy Doggie<em>**

"Puppy doggie!"

Toshiro turned his head towards the door in time to feel the purple haired Quincy suddenly glomp him. The girl that wasn't dressed in a costume was now dressed in a blue outfit. The girl in the yellow costume placed her hands on her hips. "That's weird you know. She hates Shinigami the most out of all of us, and yet she's taken a liking to you."

The girl with the magenta hair stared at him. "Do you think her doggie fetish is effecting her judgment?"

"She started reacting to him in a positive manner before that." Liltotto looked at him carefully before removing the food from her mouth. "Wait... that's the Shinigami kid Gigi turned into a zombie."

The girl dressed in the yellow costume let out a sigh. "I guess that would do it."

Toshiro felt his cheeks flush up as he continued to work on the dragon design. The purple haired girl watched over his shoulder. "That's really cool."

"Um... thank you."

The girl dressed in yellow came over. "I really hate this costume." She looked at the pumpkin Toshiro was carving. "Wow. Have you ever done this before."

"No..."

"I take back what I said about you not wanting to participate." The girl dressed in yellow sat down in a chair near him.

Ryunosuke piped up. "That was Shino who said that."

"The costume's rather cool. Now that I look at you... you're kind of cute. To bad you're a Shinigami." The girl in yellow pushed back her curls.

Toshiro felt his cheeks heat up. The girl with purple hair still clung to him. "Um..."

"Hey... give him his personal space." Ichigo tapped on the shoulder of the girl with the purple hair. She glared at him. "Give him time to get used to you, all right."

Toshiro watched as the girl with the purple hair went and sulked by the window. The young taicho went back to carving the pumpkin. Rukia came in and turned on the music player and strange music floated out. "We're going to have fun! Aren't we?"

All of the youth in the room stared at her including the young taicho. One of Ichigo's eyebrows went up. "Chappy?"

"I did not use my Soul Candy Ichigo!"

"Says the person whose dye job actually can't wash out."

"Why would you want to wash it out?"

"Because it's weird seeing..." Toshiro's comment was interrupted by Hanataro letting out a rather undignified scream. "... yeah, that."

"Shiba-dono. I mean..." The young member of the fourth division moved around the side of the room and almost sat on the purple haired girl only to jump again. He headed over to the ladder.

"It's me Hanataro."

"I know it's you Shiba-dono." The boy tugged down the surgical mask from his doctors costume.

"Shiba-dono as in the former fukutaicho of the thirteenth or the former taicho of the tenth?" Shino walked in. She stopped short upon seeing Toshiro working away at his pumpkin. "He..."

"He's really nice. "Ryunosuke piped up. The boy found the back half of a horse dumped on his head.

"It's really hard to be in costume with you not there."

"I didn't want to be a donkey! That was your decision!"


	14. Cat and Dog

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Cat and Dog<em>**

Toshiro finished his pumpkin and pushed it away from himself. He stood up and went to wash his hands before heading back to the bench he sat on before. He watched as other people looked at the pumpkin he carved. His stomach churned and he decided it was best to just look away. He closed his eyes in an attempt to close of outside stimulus, but found that he couldn't block off the sounds.

The girl with the blond hair spoke close to his ear. "That is a really cool pumpkin. Do you want to try apple bobbing again?"

"No thank you." Two bright teal eyes snapped open. Toshiro felt himself shudder.

"Why not?"

"I almost drowned when I was younger." He turned his face then to find the girl was inches away from him. His cheeks heated up.

"All right. I apologize then for making you even try the game." The girl went back to the table as Ichigo placed a candle in Toshiro's pumpkin and lit it. The boy tilted his head and watched the candle light flicker.

Watching the light flicker lasted until he felt something paunch on him. "Aniki!"

Toshiro looked up to see that Yachiru was wearing her cat ears, paws and tail. The temperature in the room rose. "Kusajishi..."

"Our costumes match." The temperature in the room rose again.

Toshiro sat up and patted the pink haired girl on the head. He felt the temperature in the room rise again. The boy turned to look at the purple haired girl and noticed she was livid. He mouthed the words 'don't'. Only she noticed as she slumped down into her chair. He turned his head to look at the doorway in time to see Rin come in. Liltotto walked up to him frowning. "All you did was add horns to your head and gel your hair. Badly I might add."

"I'm supposed to be Akon."

Ichigo sighed. "So I'm not the only one dressing up as another person."

The teen leaned up at the table while Yachiru and Liltotto headed to the candy bowls. Rikichi came into the room with a swaggering pose and wearing a red wig. His hands were on his hips until he saw Toshiro's costume. His finger pointed at the young taicho. He opened his mouth to say something, only to burst out laughing. He was soon on the floor rolling over with laughter.

"Can ask what is so funny?"

"You're costume is so ridiculous!"

"Says the person whose dressed up as Abarai."

"Hey!" Rikichi stood up. "Do you have a problem with Renji or something?"

"He's Hinamori's friend." Toshiro looked out the window.

"And what is that supposed to mean."

"Leave him Rikichi." Rukia called out. "Let's have a contest to see how much candy I stuffed into this jar." Toshiro continued to look out the window. "Come on Hitsugaya Taicho. You too." Reluctantly he walked over. His pumpkin let off an eerie light. "If you guess the closest then you get the candy."

She handed out slips of papers. "Make your guesses."

Toshiro stared at the paper and wrote out a number. He went back to his bench while Rukia sorted through the numbers. "The number of candies in the jar was one-hundred and ninety-three. Hitsugaya Taicho was the closest with a hundred and ninety."

Toshiro frowned as the jar of candy was placed in front of him. He looked over as they progressed to other games.


	15. Good Night

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Good Night<em>**

The young taicho watched as the young Shinigami and Quincy participated in games including bobbing for apples. Rukia tried getting him to participate in more games, but Ichigo intervened. He joined the other youth when it came time to start telling scary stories. The party finally ended and everyone began to pack things up. Toshiro grabbed the bag Rangiku had put his costume in. He slipped the jar of candy into the bag.

Ichigo pointed at the pumpkin. "Why don't I get this for you."

Two bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "Why?"

"I can carry it back for you."

"I got that..."

"You know about Kaien-dono... and him too."

"You know I'm not strong on talking."

"I know."

Toshiro looked at Ichigo. "You're stuck looking like Kaien-dono or taicho for a few days, aren't you."

"Yes. What of it." Ichigo watched as a smirk spread across the young taicho's face. "Toshiro..."

"Nothing. I was just thinking... about something." The boy stood up and looked at his costume frowning.

"Do you want to change before going back to the tenth."

"No. I'm wanting to get to bed."

Ichigo picked up the pumpkin and began to carry it with the candle still lit. "Then lets get going."

"Isn't that dangerous."

"I guess." Ichigo blew the candle out.

"Can you stay for awhile?"

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

Toshiro stopped walking and looked back at Ichigo. "I guess. I liked carving the pumpkin. I didn't like getting my head dunked under water, that girl glomping me or the comments certain people made."

"It did though go better then you planned."

"I got to see Hanataro think you were the ghost of your dad. That was funny."

"Toshiro..."

The young taicho didn't respond. Upon arriving at the division they found no one around. "Matsumoto's out drinking again." The boy tilted his head towards Ichigo. "Are you sure you can't stay the night."

"I'm not sure..."

"You owe me for making me think you were Kaien-dono. Stay for a few days. I mean... you can't go to school with your hair dyed... can you. So you should do what I say for a few days"

Ichigo sighed. "No. It would cause to much problems." The teen scratched his dyed head of hair. "Fine. I owe you."

_Note – Now that I've finished posting Strawberry Pumpkin Fields I can start working on the sequel. :D_


End file.
